E-BOOK

Effective June 1, 2017 Public Act 099-0906 amends the Illinois Power Agency Renewable Energy Resources Fund. This Act makes extensive changes designed to modernize the State’s electric grid and increase the use of renewable resources. The Act implements a zero emissions standards and establishes the Illinois Solar for All Program. This will increase the State’s…

The Department of Public Health recently added more medical conditions for which patients may use medical cannabis. Under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Medical Registry 77 Ill. Adm. Code 946 . The amendment adds Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and terminal illnesses where the patient’s life expectancy is 6 months or less to the…

New York By Les Christy, February 22, 2013, CNN Money. “Borrowers are discovering that their foreclosed homes are coming back to haunt them long after they have moved out. In these “Zombie Foreclosures” borrowers move out after their banks schedule a foreclosure auction only to learn months or years later that the auction never took…

Realtor Mag Daily Real Estate News Thursday, April 14, 2016 “An insurance company wants to help home buyers purchase more confidently, without the fears of a housing bubble looming over their investment. To sooth these fears, ValueInsured has a launched a first of its kind down payment protection plan. Company officials are touting its new…

BY Jim Puzzanghera, LA Times April 14, 2016 “A top federal regulator announced a long awaited initiative to allow some homeowners facing foreclosure to reduce the principal on their mortgages. But the plan is limited and comes years after advocated began pushing for much broader relief in the wake of the housing market crash. The…

Average long term US mortgage rates slid last week to their lowest level since February 2015, luring prospective purchasers during the spring home buying season. Mortgage Buyer Freddy Mac stated last week that the average rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.59% from 3.71%. The benchmark rate was far below the…

Construction started on 386,000 new apartments last year, according to census data, the highest number since 1987. Apartments, defined as housing units in buildings with 5 or more units, made up 35% of all home construction last year, the highest share since 1973 according to USA Today, April 2, 2016. Rents are rising and vacancy…

Total mortgage application volume, including for refinances and home purchases climbed 2.7% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis over the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported last week. The 30 year fixed rate dropped 3.86% last week, compared to 3.94% the prior week according to Mortgage Bankers Association. “This was the first increase…

According to the minutes from the March Open Market Committee released last week the Federal Funds target rate will most likely remain at its current 0.25% to 0.50% range until at least the June Federal Open Market meeting according to DSNews. “Concerns about the possible economic impact of financial turbulence early in the year motivated…

The number of homeowners nationwide with negative equity “underwater” has been on the decline for a few years. In 2015 the underwater borrower dropped by 31% or about 1.5 million borrowers. At the end of 2015 there were 3.2 million underwater borrowers representing about 6.5% of all residential mortgages nationwide and while negative equity…